A Carved 'Sancai'-Glazed Stoneware Jar Liao Dynasty

the compressed globular body freely carved with a wide frieze of four distinct white-glazed blossoms with amber centers, all borne on a leafy green vine, set between green line borders, a narrow band encircling the shoulder featuring lozenge-shaped panels centered by similar white flowers, all below a short rounded neck, the glaze stopping short of the broad foot rim and countersunk convex base to expose a cream-colored slip and the granular ware burnt red in the firing

Sotheby's New York, 7th December 1983, lot 206.
Thereafter with the present owners.

In good condition with expected wear to the glaze at the rim. The rim with a small chip, 1/8 inch long. Scattered burst air bubbles on the exterior, the largest 1/8 inch wide. Some green glaze chipped off the clay on the central register, the entire area approximately 1 1/4 inch long. Near one of the large flowers is a small section of kiln adhesion, 1/2 inch of it chipped, a 3/8 inch area remaining. UV light shows a 1 1/2 inch section of repainting over part of a leaf. The color in the catalogue is accurate.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

A closely related jar of slightly larger size, similarly decorated in sancai glaze with large blooming flowers, in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, is illustrated in Sekai toji zenzhu, vol. 13, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 132. See also a jar of this type incised with peonies in sancai glaze, in the Idemitsu Museum of Art, Tokyo, published in New History of World Art, vol. 5, Tokyo, 1998, pl. 187; and another vessel offered at Christie's London, 14th December 1983, lot 193.